Conventional imaging devices such as printers, plotters, copiers, facsimile machines and the like, typically utilize various types of print media to print images. Such print media types include paper based media (e.g., glossy paper, semi-glossy paper, matte paper, etc.) as well as non-paper based media (e.g., vellum, film, etc.).
To optimize print quality, an imaging device generally requires a number of parameters such as print modes, color maps, and so on, to be configured. This is because such parameters typically vary with the type of media being utilized. For example, an ink-based imaging device such as an ink jet printer that prints to an overhead transparency (OHT) designed for a laser printer may result in a print that not only may need to re-imaged, but that also may result in gumming-up the internal assembly of the imaging device. This is because ink-based imaging devices use ink and laser-based OHTs do not generally have any ink retention coating. Accordingly, an ink-imaging device may adjust parameters such as printing speed, ink drying time, the amount of ink used, etc., to suit the particular print media being used.
In yet another example, a laser-based imaging device such as a laser printer that prints on an ink-based OHT may melt the ink-based OHT because ink-based OHTs are not manufactured to withstand the amount of heat typically generated by a laser printer's image fusing process. As a result, the imaging job may not only need to be re-imaged, but the job may also result in the need to replace printer parts if the incompatible print media melted onto internal parts of the laser printer. Accordingly, a laser-imaging device may adjust parameters such as the speed of printing, ink-fusing temperature, biasing voltage, etc., to suit the particular print media being used.
Some imaging devices need to be manually configured to properly operate based on the print media type that is going to be used. Thus, print media type information and instructions are typically written on a media box. However, many users do not read the box or the instructions that accompany the media. If the user re-installs the print media on another printer, the user is often required to either remember or guess the media type. This is because once the user removes the media from the box for installation into the device, the box is generally thrown away, and the media data type and/or other instructions are often lost.
Accordingly, a number of conventional techniques have been developed for an imaging device to identify the particular type of print media that is loaded into an imaging device. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,148,162 to Huston et al., assigned to the assignee hereof, and incorporated herein by reference, describes marking each sheet of print media with eight separate indicia by imprinting the markings either on the face of each media sheet or on the side of each media sheet. E.g., two (2) barcodes are printed on each margin on a face of a sheet of print media, or 2 barcodes are printed on each edge of a sheet of media—top, right, bottom and left.
Such a conventional procedure to provide print media parameters to a printer has a number of disadvantages. One disadvantage, for example, is that print media marking costs can be substantially increased by the requirement to mark each sheet of print media with eight separate barcodes. An additional disadvantage is that up to eight separate sensors (e.g., optical sensors) are required to sense the sheet's eight markings—one dedicated sensor per marking. Requiring so many sensors generally increases printer fabrication costs. A further disadvantage is that such a procedure does not typically provide a way for the printing device to determine the quantity of print media that is loaded into the tray because each sheet is sensed individually. Thus, a user may not be able to easily determine if the printer has enough print media loaded into the tray to complete a print job.
Accordingly, the various implementations of the following described subject matter address these and other problems of conventional techniques to provide print media parameters to printing devices.